Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 57943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
“Need any help?” I teased with one eyebrow cocked.
Pulling that shirt off over her head, revealing nothing underneath, she purred, “I sure as hell don’t want to do it by myself.” Her wink told me that we were done talking about lotion and had moved on to more interesting topics.
This girl is a damn minx.
THE NEXT DAY at work, I struggled to stay focused. I tried to remain upbeat as I heard Anj excitedly tell me about the Halloween party foods she’d made and what kinds of mixed drinks Deion was going to make. Anj and Deion always threw an awesome Halloween party. This year was the first time I was bringing a date. It would have been majorly exciting except for the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about Sam’s promise to come see me.
When the flower deliverywoman showed up while Anj was at lunch with a dozen red roses, my stomach turned at the sight of them. “Delivery for Lia Finch,” she chirped, setting them on my desk before she walked away, leaving me to stare at them in disgust.
Slowly, I opened the card, fearing the words I was about to read.
I cringed as I crumpled up the letter, tossing it and the roses into the trash. Needing his comfort, I texted Cale.
Me: He had a dozen roses sent to work, which means he knows where I work. No surprise there. His note said that he couldn’t wait to see me later. Cale, I’m tired of being scared.
When he didn’t respond for a while, I started to worry about him. But the front door opened and in came my knight, who stalked right over to my desk and pulled me up from the chair.
“Lia, I’m here.” Safe.
I tried not to cry as he held me, but I was so emotional from this week that the tears fell anyway. In a way, I was almost glad to get today over with. At least I wouldn’t be sitting in anticipation of what might come.
“Are you okay?” he demanded, pulling away from me.
I nodded. “Yes, but he just scares the hell out of me. What do you think he’ll do?”
A murderous look passed over Cale’s face at the thought of exactly what Sam might do, and I shivered.
“He’ll never have the chance, Lia. I promise, the moment he tries anything, I’ll kill the son of a bitch,” he vowed. “You sure you don’t want me to pick you up this afternoon?”
“Yeah, Anj is taking me to her house so we can get ready. Deion will be there, so I’ll be safe till you arrive,” I assured him.
He looked uneasy but agreed that he would see me then.
Leaning down, he kissed me on the lips. “I’ll see you soon, babe.”
I sadly watched him walk away, already missing him.
AFTER LEAVING A very vulnerable Lia at work, I slid the gun out from under the seat in my truck and tucked it into the waist of my pants. The drive to the address Dad had given me took no more than ten minutes from the bank. I arrived at a small home that was kept up in decent shape.
There wasn’t a car in the driveway, so I got out and walked around the back. That door was locked, so I stuffed my fist into the sleeve of my jacket and knocked in one of the panes on the door, allowing me access to reach inside and unlock it. I drew the gun and slowly crept into the house. After doing a quick sweep of each room to make sure nobody was there, I began digging for information.
The house barely looked lived in. There wasn’t anything in the house that was remotely useful in my investigation. I couldn’t find any filing cabinets, pictures, or documents. The house had furniture in it, but there were no clothes in the drawers or the closets. It was almost spooky. I finally gave up on yet another dead end and headed back to the truck.
In a last-ditch effort, I peeked in the mailbox. I withdrew a neglected stack of mail. After sifting through many items addressed to Jose Juarez, I finally found a car payment bill for a Sam Vickerson. Bingo. I tossed everything else back in the mailbox before stuffing the bill in my jacket pocket and heading back to my house to continue my investigation.
Once I was sitting in front of my laptop, I Googled Sam Vickerson. There was nothing on this guy. I expected an old Facebook page, a phone listing—something. The guy was a damn ghost. Realizing it was getting late, I decided to email the information to my dad so he could ask his friend to look into it.
I had to park two driveways down from the address Lia had given me for the party since cars were already strewn about everywhere. I’d spent so much time researching Sam that I was running late to the party. But Lia was going to get a kick out of my costume when she saw it.